Welcome to the Bikepacking Scotland newsletter. Some of you have subscribed directly to this, others have taken part or showed interest in the Capital Trail or the new Central Belter route. Thanks for that! As all of this has to do with bikepacking, we think it's important to keep things simple and have merged all of those newsletters into one. Welcome to the Bikepacking Scotland newsletter! We hope you enjoy what we offer, if you don't you can always unsubscribe.

What is Bikepacking Scotland about?
Scotland has unique access rights in the world. Those and a vast network of heritage paths make it a great country (possibly the best in the world) to explore on two wheels. We are aiming to pull all information you need for that into one handy resource. Routes, gear advice, inspirational videos, and what else will be important in the future.
Bikepacking Scotland is also the home of the Capital Trail and the new Central Belter and the annual events to ride those two trails with likeminded riders. We will keep you in the loop about developments on both trails with the occasional email here. If you are interested in taking part in the events, please follow the event pages on Facebook. The Capital Trail takes place on 3 June, the inaugural ride of the Central Belter is scheduled for 8 September. Entries will open in March.

Bikepacking Scotland Resources
We are looking into building a website for Bikepacking Scotland soon, but while this is a work in progress, there are social media channels you can follow. We will update you with information about both the Capital Trail and the Central Belter on those channels.

Bikepacking Scotland Events: An Evening with Tom and Rich Seipp
And for great entertainment and inspiration there's a series of talks and events in the pipe, with Tom and Rich Seipp making a start on next Thursday 16 Feb at 7pm at Craigdon Mountain Sports, 44 Biggar Road, Edinburgh.

Meet an eleven year old boy who can say he has raced Strathpuffer three times. Meet Tom. And his dad Rich. Together they have ridden a 200 km gravel race, coast to coast, the Highland Trail, one of the toughest bikepacking events in the world, and 3200 km unsupported on a tandem through France. They will have loads of stories to tell. Their video 'A Mountain Journal' has won 'Best Adventure Film' at the Kendal Mountain Festival last year, and has been selected for many other festivals. To get an idea, you can watch it here.

Tickets for the talk start from £6 for Young Scot Card Holders, £9 for concessions (under 16) and £11 for everyone else. There's no booking fee when you book online, on the day you'll pay a pound more on the door. To give you an incentive to buy your tickets online here until Monday 10pm, you can use NEWS10 as code and get 10% off (please note the code doesn't apply to the Young Scot Card tickets).